Genesis and Requiem
by Raziel104
Summary: Self-insert. To enter into a new world is to enter the unknown, regardless of what you think you know or not. How will Tomoe fare in the harsh world of Evangelion.
1. Chapter:1-Dawn (edited)

**Hey guys, I'm back with a new fanfic. To all of you who actually read author's notes, have you ever been bothered by SOPA or SOPA-like regulations. Well if **

**you are now is a good time to do something about it. On there is a petition to make these kinds of regulations illegal. If you want to vote on it **

**you'll have to make an account but it's fairly easy. Just use this URL:**

** /petition/stop-sopa-2014/q0Vkk0Zr**

**Anyways, I hope you all enjoy the chapter.**

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"cookies" - talking

'cookies' - thoughts

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This story may not be believable to many, but, that's fine. I just need to write down the crazy hurricane of emotions that has become my life since I was taken from the one I was naturally born to. I wasn't smuggled off to a foreign country (well, technically I'm in a foreign country) if that's what you're wondering. I was 'reborn' into one of my favorite anime's. You're probably thinking along the lines of 'oh, it's another "Naruto" fanfiction' or 'what a lame plot'. But I assure you, this isn't another "Naruto" fanfiction and that plot archetype isn't bad when done is my story, and I've been reborn into the world of "Evangelion". Weird, right? I didn't even realize till well after I got used to the fact that I was alive and not indeed dead. Now you're probably wondering why was he/she reborn.

Well, it's a rather horrifying end. Oh, I forgot to tell you my name. I've pretty much forgotten my original name, though, it echoes through the back of my mind every now and then. A shadow of my old life. My new name is Tomoe 'Mydna' Kitajima. Back to how I was reborn, I believe I was a 16 year old high school student at the time when a war of sorts broke out.

I vividly remember my death; I often wake up from nightmares checking myself for jagged wounds where limbs used to be. The 'enemy' army had come to my neighborhood, they were using a tank and bazookas to knock down houses and shot down anyone they saw. My house had collapsed; I remember the horrid terrified cries of my mother ruthlessly cut off as the structure crumbled upon her. I remember my step-father and my two brothers, one older and one younger, being gunned down by the mercenaries as they laughed cruelly with sick, twisted smiles on their faces. I remember them throwing a frag grenade; it tore off my legs and shredded my right arm. I screamed so very loud, and all they did was laugh and strip me of my clothing that was melted to my skin, ripping my flesh exposing muscle and bone. They had their way with my body. Then they had the great idea of burning me to death in a bonfire for their amusement. The mercenaries enjoyed the chilling song of my agony and grief, laughing the whole time.

Those last moments will be something I will never forget no matter hard I try. I don't remember what started that war, but, it is probably best that I don't. It is time for me to move on. Now I'll start the story of my new life, with the exception of my first years considering being a baby isn't all that thrilling and I'm sure you don't want to know all about my years of advanced education.

**-Year of 2014-**

"Misato! Please keep your eyes on the road!" I squeak at the purple haired woman driving the blue Renault Alpine A310. Misato Katsuragi, an old family friend of mine, is the operations director of the tactical division at NERV. My mother died recently and Misato was more than happy to take custody of me, since she is an employee of NERV she can do stuff like that for kids, even if they're not related to her. Now we're going to Misato's apartment in Tokyo-3 where she lives with another ward.

His name is Shinji Ikari as you could probably all guess. It was humorous to hear about how he met Pen-Pen from a primary source in her point of view. She thinks that my presence will help him somehow, especially if we became friends. As much as it'd be nice to live with the pilot of Unit-01, I doubt I'll make it within a mile of Misato's apartment with her driving. I knew I should have insisted on driving, lack of license be damned.

"Oh, come on. Lighten up."

"How can I when I sense impending doom."

"You're such a bummer."

"If you get me to your apartment in good health I'll treat you and Shinji to one of my own dishes."

"Which one?"

"The yellow one." Yes, that's what she has designated it as since I haven't given it a name. It's yellow because there is turmeric and curry powder in it.

"You've got a deal," she says happily. Misato slows the car from a bone jarring 90 or so miles per hour to a more comfortable 60 and I could tell she was _trying _to drive safely.

_Time skip_

Thankfully we've made it to her apartment alive. As I walk in, duffle bag in hand, Misato says, "You can have the bedroom next to Shinji's, it's across from mine. Shinji won't be home till around 4 'cause he's at school since its Monday. So, you'll have time to sort yourself out."

After I place my bag on the bed of my new room I notice a female school uniform on the desk.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I enrolled you in Shinji's school. I know you've been going to college and all, but I think it's do you some good to be with kids your own age for once in your life."

I had been going to college since having 16 years of knowledge and having been nearing the end of high school, before I died and was reborn, significantly boosted my ability to acquire a higher education at an earlier age. I started going to college at 7 after finishing off high school. I have a minor in creative writing, a major in computer programming, chemistry and biology, a masters in piano and composition, and was well on my way to attaining a Ph. D in physics.

Let's just say I'm fairly intelligent, not exactly anywhere near the smartest person in the world though. A must know about me is that I'm extremely curious in anything that interests me, so I tend to dabble in many things. I'm the right age to go to Shinji's school since I'm 14 as well. The only reason I dropped out of college a few weeks ago was because my mother's illness took a turn for the worse and I wanted to her to be able to spend the rest of her time knowing her only daughter loved her dearly and was by her side. She passed away only 3 days ago.

"That's fine. I'll have plenty of time to finish up my Ph. D afterwards."

I continue looking around my new room. It's pretty bland so I'll probably redecorate it later. Currently the walls are white and the carpet is beige, the desk my new uniform is on looks like it's made of oak and is placed under the window, there's a small bed pushed against the wall, opposite the wall there is a small wardrobe-style cabinet, opposite the wall with the window and desk is the door to the rest of the apartment. I start to unpack.

I only brought some shirts, pants, and other such necessities. I go to the bathroom to put away my shampoo, brush, and other such things. I glance in the mirror. Unlike most residents of Japan I'm Caucasian. I have brown curly hair with faint golden blonde highlights pulled back by a headband. My eyes are light brown, I'm about 5'1" and I'm have an average body shape that's in fairly decent physical condition and I wear prescription glasses with a lavender frame. Not much different from what I remember of my past life. My current outfit shows my usual choice of clothes. A plain blue T-shirt with equally plain cream shorts.

Suddenly a loud crashing sound resembling that of hundreds of empty cans falling rings throughout the apartment.

"Misato, are you okay," I call out worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just knocked down my… beer can mountain."

"Tsk."

That's classic Misato for you. For as long as I've known her she's been a slob and more recently an alcoholic. 'Since Misato's home already I just have to have dinner ready soon after Shinji comes home.'

"Hey Misato, what time is it?"

"Its 3:32!"

"Kay, I'm going to start dinner."

"Sounds good."

I go into the kitchen to start cooking finding the spices I need oddly enough.

"Misato, did you actually try to cook one of my dishes when I gave you the recipe?"

"Yeah… I'm pretty sure it wasn't supposed to be a brownish orange," she says as she walks in and sits at the table after having grabbed a beer.

_Time Skip- _

_Currently 4:05p.m. _

"Tadaima**[1]**," a small, soft voice calls out as I finish dinner.

"Okaerinasai**[2]** Shinji," Misato replies and continues on to say, "Our new roomie and one of my best friends is here and has cooked us dinner." Shinji comes into the kitchen and looks at the food I cooked with suspicion and a hint of fear so I say, "Don't worry, it's not toxic like Misato's cooking."

"Hey, it is not toxic," she yelled indignantly.

"Sure, sure. Whatever floats your boat. My name is Tomoe Kitajima, it's nice to meet you Ikari-san. You can just call me Tomoe."

Shinji blushes and stutters, "I-It's nice to meet you too. You can just call me Sh-Shinji.," and then he adds hastily, " If you w-want to that is Tomoe."

"Okay Shinji, dinner is ready but it needs to cool off a bit before I serve it, so you have time to relax a bit."

"A-arigatou**[3]**," he stutters weakly and he walks off towards his room. 'He's even cuter than he was portrayed as in the anime.'

"You like him, don't you," Misato teases.

"S-shut up, I don't know what you're talking about," I snap back at her as I check the food and find it at a satisfactory temperature for serving. As I begin to serve dinner Shinji returns to the kitchen and takes the seat across from Misato at the table. Once I finish serving I sit at one of the sides of the square table, putting me between Shinji and Misato.

"Itadakimasu," we say together before we begin to eat. Soon after we begin Shinji says with a mildly surprised expression, "This is good."

"Thank you," I reply, then add, "Even though I've known Misato my entire life, thankfully my culinary skills don't reflect that."

"Are you trying to say something," Misato says in a mock pissy tone.

"Yes, I'm implying that you can't cook to save your life."

"You're so mean to me," she replies in a false sad pitch.

"That trick hasn't worked on me since I was 5."

"No fun, that's what you are," she pouts causing me to smirk slightly.

"There's no meat in this. Do you not like it," Shinji asks politely.

"I'm Vegan so I can't eat any animal products," I reply.

"Oh."

"So, what's school like?"

"School is school, it's fairly boring." 'Oh, that's just peachy.'

"Lovely, now I dread what they're teaching you. It's probably pathetic compared to college. Remind me why you enrolled me again Misato."

"You should interact more with kids your own age. It'll do you some good."

"But, even Shinji says it's boring."

"I know it'll be dreadfully boring and easy for you, but you still need to go."

"So mean," I pout, then I notice Shinji looking dumbfounded. "What?"

"You went to college!?"

"Well, yeah. I'm not done yet. After this middle school fiasco I'll be going back to finish my Ph. D in physics and help out my old piano teacher."

"Oh, so you play piano?"

"Yeah. My electric Yamaha p-122 is being shipped here. I think it'll be a week at most before it gets here. Would you like me to play for you when it gets here?"

"Yeah… I would like that," he says while blushing. I notice that it's getting late, so I get up and walk over to the kitchen sink turning on the tap to start dishes.

"Oh… umm... you don't need to do that, I can do the dishes."

"Nah, I don't mind. I would appreciate it if you could dry the clean dishes though."

Since the lights are off the kitchen is bathed in a red-orange hue and we can hear the wind-chimes singing in the air as it moves in lazy breaths. There aren't very many dishes so we finish quickly, Misato had already left for bed. The sun is almost below the horizon coating the room in crimson.

"It's getting late, we should go to sleep. I'll see you in the morning, oyasumi**[4]**," I say to Shinji.

"Hai**[5]**, oyasumi," Shinji says quietly as we head to our respective rooms.

As I lay go to lie down in my bed I grab my MP4 out of my bag and turn it on. I fall asleep listening to 'A Cruel Angel's Thesis' coincidentally enough.

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** Okay, how was that? Any reviews and constructive criticism as always are appreciated. **

**Raziel's Glossary of Japanese and random things:  
**

**[1]**Tadaima- I'm home

**[2]**Okaerinasai- Welcome back

**[3]**Arigatou- Thank you

**[4]**Oyasumi- Good night

**[5]**Hai- Yes


	2. Chapter:2-Sunrise (edited)

**Hello again. Sorry for the slow update, but posts will be somewhat unpredictable because school is still an obstacle I have to deal with. I hope you all enjoy.**

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"om nom" - talking

'om nom' - thoughts

* * *

**Genesis and Requiem**

**Chapter 2**

**Sunrise**

I wake up to the song 'The Lightning' by Kyle Landry playing in my ears and the smell of something good cooking. I make my bleary eyes look down at the screen of my MP4 and find that it's about 6:00 a.m. I get up and walk out of my room and into the kitchen. I find Shinji already dressed for the day making bento and breakfast.

"Ohaiyo gozaimasu** [1]**," I croak out groggily.

"Tomoe, ohaiyo gozaimasu. I'm making breakfast still, so you have time to take a quick shower."

"Arigatou."

I quickly fetch my new uniform and make a bee line for the shower. I hop in after making sure the water is warm. The shower's warmth relieves me of my early morning muscle pain. I finish in about 7 minutes, 4 of which I used to comb my hair. I dry off and put on my uniform, pulling my hair back in a light blue headband, and place my glasses on my nose.

Then I notice something, the skirt goes to mid-thigh, way too short for my liking. I zip into my room and find a pair of my black jeans to replace my skirt with. I also remove the blue part of the uniform's top, leaving the white shirt and red bow and I change my blue headband to a red one. I slip on some socks and walk back into the kitchen. Shinji looks up from setting the table and starts to blush saying, "I'm not sure the school will allow you to change your uniform like that."

"I honestly don't care what the school wants, the skirt was a bit short for comfort," I respond as I glance at the table, breakfast consisted of rice, a little miso soup, toast, some steamed vegetables and a glass of orange juice.

"Breakfast looks good."

"I'm done with cooking and we have time to eat. It's about an hour and a half till school starts."

I glance at the clock and it reads 6:27 a.m.

"Misato still asleep?"

"Yeah, I usually leave breakfast on the table for her. Let's eat."

We both sit at the table and say "Itadakimasu" together quietly. Breakfast, although quite simple, is very flavorful and tasty. As soon as I finish I say, "Thank you for the meal, it was very good."

"It wasn't that great," Shinji responds sheepishly.

"Non-sense. Don't make yourself out to be less than you really are. I think your cooking is good."

Shinji looks up at me with a surprised expression. "You really think that?"

"I wouldn't lie about such a thing, so, yes I do think that."

"Arigatou," he says with a small smile.

"Come on and grab your stuff, we still have to go to school."

I look up at the clock. Right now it's 7:30. Shinji reappears from the hall with our bags and his SDAT player, handing me mine while opening the front door for me.

"Arigatou, Misato never mentioned you being such a gentleman."

He flushed a bright red stuttering out, "I-I'm not! I-i-it's just that…"

"No need to be so flustered silly. I think we're going to be great friends." I flash him a gentle smile before walking through the door.

"Come on, let's go Shinji."

"Hai."

He starts to follow me as I walk to the elevator. As the elevator begins its descent Shinji glances at me and accidentally meets my eyes. He mutters a quick "sorry" and averts his gaze to the elevator doors that soon enough open. As soon as we get to the sidewalk I say, "You lead, I don't know how to get to school."

He nods and turns right. We quickly come to a train station; apparently school is on the complete other side of Tokyo-3. I must have spaced out because we were entering the school campus without me remembering how we got here. My gut is a twisted knot of anxiety now. I vividly remember my middle school days of my previous life; they were nothing short of torturous. From the social life to the bad teachers, it was terrible. My emotions must have shown because I noticed Shinji looking at me with confusion evident on his face.

"This should be easy for you; after all, you went to college already."

"I know. It's just that I've never had peers my own age before."

Realization dawned on his face and then curiosity sparked in his eyes. "What were the adults at your college like?"

"My peers never bothered me unless we were assigned a group project. They were probably miffed that a little kid was learning stuff that took them years to even begin to understand. The teachers called me an 'adorable little prodigy' and treated me very kindly. It was a bit lonely; I never had anyone to really talk to."

Shinji had a strange look in his eyes as we walked down a hallway. We stopped in front of a room labeled 2-A**.**

"Misato enrolled you in the same class as me. Umm… If you need anything you can ask me or the class representative, Horaki Hikari."

"Arigatou, Shinji."

The bell rings as Shinji and I walk in. Shinji continues on to sit at a desk in the back with two boys I recognize as Touji Suzuhara and Kensuke Aida, while I stand just inside the classroom as everyone sits down. An old, weathered man, whom I presume to be the teacher, stands and says, "Today we have a new student," He looks towards me and says, "go ahead and write your name on the board, then introduce yourself."

I walk to the board and neatly write my name in kanji and then turn around to bow and introduce myself to the class. "My name is Tomoe 'Mydna' Kitajima. I'm vegan and compose music as well as play the piano in my free-time. I hope to have a good school year with you all."

"Now, Kitajima-chan, you can take a seat at any of the empty desks."

I glance around and quickly notice that there are more empty seats than I expected and that most of the guys are signaling for me to sit next to them. A boy wearing a tracksuit yells, "Hey new girl, you can sit over 'ere."

I notice he's sitting next to Shinji and a nerdy looking boy wearing glasses and holding a camera. I walk over and sit behind Shinji, next to the boy who yelled whom I know to be Touji Suzuhara. The nerdy boy I also know to be Kensuke Aida introduces himself and his friends, "Hi, I'm Kensuke Aida, the jock is Touji Suzuhara, and that guy is the pilot of the wonderful Evangelion Unit-01, Shinji Ikari, but from what he says you already know each other."

I find myself giggling at the overenthusiastic introduction and ask, as to feign not knowing, "Shinji-kun, are they your friends?"

"Yeah…"

A girl with dark hair pulled into pig tails stands and shouts, "Kiritsu** [2]**, kyotsuke** [3]**, rei** [4]**, chakuseki** [5]**!"

Everyone sits back down on chakuseki and when the teacher greets them as usual everyone reciprocates. As the teacher begins the day's lesson, which is apparently a lecture on Second Impact, Touji inquires slyly in low voice as to not be caught, "So, how did ya and Shinji meet?"

I can tell he's looking for an opportunity to tease us and say, "I've known Misato Katsuragi for years and she invited me to live with her after my mother passed away."

"Oh... sorry," the jock says as he looks down guiltily.

"It's fine, you did nothing wrong."

"Doesn't it hurt though," Kensuke asks.

"I'm sad, but it was time for her to pass on. She would want me to be happy and move forward so I learned to let go and move on." It wasn't as hard to, considering I wasn't as emotionally attached to her as my previous mother.

Touji speaks up, "Dat takes some serous inna' strength; I can respect dat."

"So… what is there to do around here anyway," I ask, trying to change the topic.

Kensuke immediately lights up.

"Nothin' much other than arcade games and going to school, but you can make your own fun by pulling pranks and other stuff. We're going down to the arcade after school, wanna come?"

"Sounds like fun, I'll go."

We turn our attention to the old man who was now deep into his tangent about how Second Impact affected his grandfather and his cabbage stand.

_Time Skip _

**(Lunch Bell Rings)**

"Kiritsu, kyotsuke, rei!"

"You are dismissed. Hayase-kun, please show Kitajima-chan around campus," says the old man.

"Of course Sensei," replies a young male ravenette.

"Hey, Tomoe! Don't forget about the arcade afterschool," Touji yells as He, Kensuke and Shinji leave the classroom.

I yell back quickly, "I won't!"

"Now, Kitajima-san. Please let me give you a tour," the young man identified earlier as Hayase-san, "My name is Jiro Hayase; you can just call me Jiro."

"Then you can call me Tomoe, Jiro-san. Could we possibly start with the music room if you have one here."

"Of course, right this way _**Tomoe-chan**_."

I feel a sharp chill crawl up and down my spine and the hairs on the back of my neck rise at the way he said my name as he walks to the door. I follow him and we start walking down the hallway and up a set of stairs. Two doors down on the right is a room labeled '**Music Room**'.

"You said you play the piano earlier; could you play for me," Jiro asks. I'm still getting bad vibes from him.

"I promised my flat-mate I'd play for him when my piano came."

"_You have a boyfriend_," he inquires quickly with a strange tone in his voice.

"Umm… no we're just friends."

"Good, I insist you play. We have a very nice baby-grand."

He drags me over to the piano, a Yamaha I notice, and sits me down in front of it. 'Fine, if he wants me to play, I'll play.' I begin to play 'Nyan Cat' at a rapid pace, taking a quick glance over my shoulder to gauge Jiro's reaction. He has a look on his face I can only compare to one of Anakin Skywalker's creepy faces that he made in the 'Star Wars III' movie that totally wasn't worth its PG-13 rating. As I finish the melody he says, "Very nice."

"Let's move on," I say, eager to leave his company. As soon as we finish the tour I utter a quick "arigatou" and do my best to get away from him. As soon as I'm sure I've lost Jiro I make my way up to the roof to eat the bento Shinji slipped into my bag this morning.

As I walk through the door I hear loud chatter. I look towards one of the benches and see Touji, Shinji and Kensuke. Touji's head perks up when he sees me.

"Hey, Tomoe! Come over 'ere and talk wid us."

As I walk towards them I say, "Hello."

"How was the tour," Shinji asks.

"Boring. That Jiro guy was creepy though," is my response.

"In what way," Kensuke asks.

"He appears as a bright red blip on the stalker-slash-rapist radar."

"Don'cha worry. If he does anythin' I'll sock 'im in the face for ya."

"Thanks Touji, but you'll have to be quick, because once Misato gets to him he'll be a goner."

"You and Misato are close," Shinji states in a questioning way.

"Yeah, she's been my friend my entire life. Misato was there when I was born."

"Eh, hontou**[6]**," Kensuke asks in a surprised tone.

"'round a beautiful goddess your entire life, wads it like?"

I look up from eating my bento, chopsticks in mouth, humming to make it seem like I was thinking.

"Don't get me wrong, she's nice and all, but, she's a slob and pretty scatter-brained when not at work."

Touji and Kensuke look surprised and in unison they look at Shinji and ask, "Is that true!?"

In an exasperated tone he replies, "Yeah, it is."

Then his gaze travels to me and Shinji asks, "Do you like the bento? I made sure that I didn't put any animal products in it."

I smile gently and say, "Aa, it's delicious. Arigatou."

He gives me a small smile back replying, "That's a relief. I was worried you wouldn't like it."

Touji gives him a look that says 'you're fuckin' weird'. "Why worry about dat stuff? It's a woman's job anyway."

"I like to cook," Shinji retorts.

"Sometimes I wonda if ya really a guy."

"Eeh!?"

I decide to intervene now, snidely saying, "You shouldn't question people's manhood Touji, it makes one wonder if you're actually a guy or just a bitchy teenage girl."

"So cruel…," Kensuke remarks.

"Wh-why you lil'…"

"I kid you."

"You're feisty for a new kid," Touji comments, still disgruntled from my previous statement.

"I take pride in the fact I'm strange."

Kensuke asks curiously, "Aren't you worried about fitting in with the other girls?"

"It's up to them to decide if they like me as me or not."

"You're weird," says Touji.

"That's because I'm Tomoe."

"So, are there any guys that catch your eye," Kensuke asks, genuinely interested.

Looking out across the landscape from our high vantage point, I reply, "If you mean love interests, not yet. I don't decide based on appearance or gender, but who the person is at heart."

"So weird, hmm… what about hobbies," asks Touji.

"I like to draw, write, play piano, compose music, listen to music, cook, read, watch anime, mess around with computers, play video games, and hang out with close friends and family."

**(Bell Rings)**

"We better get back to class," says Shinji.

"Yeah, we can continue after school," Kensuke states.

**-Chapter End-**

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**Raziel's Gossary of Japanese and Random Terms:**

**1) Ohaiyo Gozaimasu- **It means good morning. This is the formal form, if you drop the _gozaimasu _it becomes informal.

**2, 3, 4, and 5)Kiritsu, kyotsuke, rei, and chakuseki- **Stand, sit, and bow is what this translates out to. It's traditional to use as greeting to one's teacher at the beginning of class.

**6) Hontou- **Truth, true.


	3. Chapter:3-Tenshi(Angel) (edited)

"EVA" - talking

'EVA' - thoughts

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**Genesis and Requiem**

**Chapter 3**

**Tenshi[1]**

_After School_

Shinji and I are on our way back to the apartment after hanging out with Kensuke and Touji at the arcade.

"That was fun."

"Hontou?"

"Meeting Kensuke and Touji and playing arcade games with them was, not school itself."

Rei comes running up to us out of nowhere.

"There is an emergency pilot Ikari. Come to NERV immediately, Kitajima-san you are granted access to NERV as well due to your affiliation with Captain Katsuragi."

After having said that she runs off.

"Tomoe, let's go."

"Okay, you lead the way."

_Time Skip_

**Inside NERV at Central Dogma**

As soon as I arrive Misato notices me, looking away from observing Central Dogma's main display.

"Oh good, you're here Tomoe," Misato says, obviously relieved. She looks back at the super-sized monitor where the image of the fifth angel, Ramiel, is displayed.

"So, you guys are fighting a floating, blue octahedron this time?"

"That's what it's called? And yes, we are fighting it."

"It seems like it would be more likely that the angel has long-range attacks, considering it has no appendages of which to strike opponents," I say, trying to warn Misato in a subtle way as to not hint to my knowledge on the angels. I'm still not sure which version this world more closely follows.

"Yeah, but we don't know for certain. The angels are unpredictable."

That much is certainly true.

"Sho-goki **[2]** is ready to deploy," the bridge bunny I recognize as Makoto Hyuga reports.

"Launch!"

"A high energy reading is detected from the target," Aoba Shigeru yells from his station. I feel my heart drop to my gut.

"Is that even possible," Ritsuko exclaims in surprise.

"No! Shinji dodge," Misato screams.

Right as Sho-goki appears on the surface it is struck by a laser from the transformed Ramiel. At least now I know what version of the anime it conforms to. Shinji's agonized cries echo throughout Central Dogma, chilling my bones.

"Erect a barrier!"

As the barrier goes up Ramiel changes shape again and fires a more powerful beam that goes straight through the barrier and hits Sho-goki again. Shinji's screams reach a crescendo making me feel the not-so-unfamiliar emotion of terror for him.

"Bring him back in!"

"We can't, the catapult has melted," Makoto shouts.

Misato pauses a moment before ordering, "Eject the entry-plug!"

We hear a deep voice rarely heard in NERV only associated with Commander Ikari say, "Belay that order."

"But sir, the pilot will die at this rate!"

"Without the entry-plug Sho-goki's A.T. Field would disappear resulting in the loss of Sho-goki, putting us in a precarious situation," Ritsuko informs us dispassionately.

Misato orders them to blow specific charges in the city block Shinji and Sho-goki is located at to bring it down into the Geo-Front.

"What's the status of the pilot," Ritsuko questions Makoto.

"His pulse is going into atrial fibrillation."

"Activate the plug-suit's life-support, give him a heart massage."

"Pulse confirmed, it's weak but stable."

"Good, now eject the entry-plug and expel the LCL so that the recovery team can retrieve the pilot."

_Time Skip_

**NERV's Medical Wing**

I'm sitting by Shinji's side holding his hand. I know he'll be okay but I'm still worried for him. Rei is sitting on the other side of his bed waiting for him to wake so she can give him the new mission parameters. Hopefully he won't react too badly, but that's just really wishful thinking knowing Shinji.

"Why do you linger Kitajima-san," Rei inquires with her soft voice.

"Kizuna **[3]**."

"I see."

"Why do you pilot EVA Ayanami-san?"

"It bonds me to everyone."

I smile at her and reply, "I understand."

"You do?"

"Hai, EVA is your purpose and has allowed you to be able to interact with other people such as Commander Ikari. Am I wrong?"

"No."

"I hope to become friends with you."

"Friends? If I am ordered to."

Shinji begins to stir in his bed. "Shinji-kun will wake soon."

"That is good."

Shinji's eyes open slowly, then he suddenly jumps into sitting position, did I forget to mention he's naked because the blanket is barely covering… that place.

"Oh… Rei what are you doing here?"

"At 0000 hours Operation Yashima starts, schedule is as follows:

Pilots Ikari and Ayanami are to report to Terminal 2 at 1930 hours today. At 2000 hours we get into position with Sho-gokiand Zero-goki **[4]**. At 2005 hours we launch. At 2030 hours we arrive at Fortress 2 on Mount Futago. After that, standby until further orders tomorrow, when the date changes, the operation will commence."

"Your meal," as Rei speaks she opens the drawer in the portable station she had brought, revealing a pre-made meal.

"I don't feel like eating anything."

"You should, we are departing in 90 minutes."

"They expect me to get in that thing again?"

"They do."

Shinji looks downward, saying, "I've had enough. I don't ever want to be so scared again. Scared sick… and I can't even run away." His hand's grip on mine tightens.

"You're scared of EVA? Then why don't you stay in bed?"

"Stay in bed?" He looks up at Rei confused.

"I'll pilot Sho-goki," she states simply before getting up and heading to the door.

"Ayanami", Shinji shouts in worry, moving toward her and revealing… I think you know what I'm talking about.

Rei stops, saying, "You might want to acquire clothing before leaving the Medical Wing. Saiyonara **[5]**."

"Ehhh, what abou…," he looks down and quails; his squeak echoing off the walls.

Then, at long last, he notices that I'm holding his hand. He looks at me in mortification, trying to cover himself in the sheets, stuttering uncontrollably. He's most likely trying to formulate an apology for his… indecent exposure.

"It's okay. Not like you knew until now. Will you be okay?"

He visibly relaxes a bit, still glancing at our hands.

"Gomennasai **[6]**, am I making you uncomfortable?"

"N-no, it's just that…," he looks down at our joined hands again, "I'm not used to it."

"That's okay. About my previous question?"

"Oh, I'll be fine… I think."

I look him over for a second. His posture is slouched, eyes not meeting mine and he just overall seems tired and somewhat unsettled.

"If you ever need anything or just someone to talk to, I'm here."

"…Arigatou."

The room falls silent again for a few moments, then Shinji asks, "Do you think it's wrong of me to refuse to pilot that thing?"

"I can't truly judge your actions. You are the one who ultimately decides what is wrong or right for yourself. I can only tell you to follow your heart; it usually knows where to go."

"But what if I make the wrong choice!?"

I clasp his hand tightly in both of mine, look him in the eyes and say, "No matter what you do, even if I don't agree, I'll support your decision."

Shinji looks like he's on the verge of crying.

"How can you be so nice to me! All you've done since we've met is be nice. It's impossible for anyone to like me and be kind to me!"

"That's not true."

"Yes it is! I'm a liar, deceitful, mean… I'm a bad person! How can you be so nice to me!?"

"Because I don't see Shinji like that. The Shinji I see is sweet and caring. Even though it hasn't been long since we've met I've come to like you. You may not be perfect, no one is, but you're not a bad person. No matter what you do my perception of you won't change."

Shinji begins to sob, hot tears streaking down his cheeks. I gently pull him to me and hold him. He burrows into my shoulder, tears soaking through my shirt. "I was so scared," Shinji sobs, "It hurt so bad, I thought it would never end."

'He's trembling badly.' I pull him closer to me so I can hold him tighter.

"I don't know what to do. I'm scared to pilot, but everyone expects me to."

"Are you afraid to die," I ask.

"Huh," Shinji looks up at me, confused. At least he's only got a bad case of the sniffles now.

"Are you afraid of death?"

"O-of course I am."

"I'm not sure if you can think of it this way, but I'll share my point of view anyway. If you don't pilot you'll most likely die, but, if you do you have a fighting chance to survive. It's not just your own life either, your precious people and everyone else could die too."

"Are you scared of death, Tomoe?"

"Hai, it terrifies me."

"Why?"

"Because I don't know if my precious people are okay; and if they're alive they are most likely mourning me and I don't want that. And who's to say what's after death." 'The second time will probably be different in that I'm not reborn.'

"I'm scared of death because it usually means I'll be in pain. I'm a coward."

"No, that's a natural reaction to the thought of death. It's nothing to be ashamed of. Here is my advice: don't let your fear weigh you down, let it propel you forward."

"You think I can do that Tomoe?"

"I have faith in you."

"Arigatou."

"Doushite **[7]**?"

"You saved me from my doubts and fear."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm the pilot of Sho-goki. I'm going to fight alongside Ayanami."

_Time Skip_

I'm inside the NERV bunker serving as a temporary command center for this operation. Ibuki, Hyuga, and Shigeru are intently observing their screens, making sure everything is going accordingly while Misato stands as the figure of authority in the makeshift command center. Shinji is at the sniper's position with Rei on standby to act as his shield when necessary.

"Operation start!"

All of Tokyo-3's defensive batteries begin their assault on Ramiel, the fifth angel. Of course, they can't actually harm the angel, it's only to distract it while the rifle Misato 'borrowed' is charging. The bunker has descended into a cacophony as everyone is yelling orders and statistics.

Finally the go ahead is given for the rifle. It shoots out across the lake at the same time as one of Ramiel's beams. They avoid each other and continue on to their designated targets. Right as the angel is struck in the side we get shook up by its attack that grazed Sho-goki, leaving everything except for its right shoulder pylon intact.

Misato asks, "What's our status."

"We're operational," reports Makoto Hyuga.

"Can Sho-goki fire another shot?"

"Yes, but the pilot…," he trails off as the feed from Sho-goki is shown to us.

Over our communications array we hear Commander Ikari order, "Delegate Sho-goki's duties to Zero-goki."

"No, he hasn't backed out of it yet. We still have a chance. Please believe in your own son," Misato pleads with the commander.

"Do as you wish."

"Arigatou gozaimasu."

The monitors show that Sho-goki has already gotten back into position, but Ramiel is already firing prompting Zero-goki to come out and shield the other EVA.

We all hold our breath as Sho-goki's second shot rings out. It strikes true and the fifth angel finally dies looking a bit like a Christmas ornament from hell that crumbles into a flood of blood. Everyone begins cheering as I run out of the bunker and sprint the entire mile and a half to the lake where the EVAs are. As I reach them I see Shinji struggling with Rei's entry-plug escape hatch. I join him and help pry it open. Shinji runs in crying out Ayanami's name.

Ayanami asks, "Why are you crying?"

"Because I'm relieved."

"Gomennasai, I don't know what to do at times like this."

"Why don't you try smiling?"

Rei looks up at us and smiles. It's very pretty. Then Shinji looks at me inquisitively. "Weren't you at the NERV bunker?"

"Yes… but as soon as… you killed… the angel… I ran here," I wheeze out as I pant from over exerting myself. 'I really need to work out more.'

He looks out over the distance I ran in disbelief. "How…"

"When I'm motivated I'm fast. Besides I was worried about you guys," I say, having finally regained my breath.

"You are very fast Kitajima-san," Rei comments.

"Arigatou."

Shinji says, "Let's go home."

"Yeah, you both deserve to rest."

**-Chapter End-**

* * *

**Raziel's Glossary of Japanese and Random Things:**

**1) Tenshi- **Angel

**2 &amp; 4) Sho-goki and Zero-goki- **Unit-01 and Unit-00

**3) Kizuna- **Bond

**5) Saiyonara- **Goodbye

**6) Gomennasai- **A polite apology

**7) Doushite- **Why/What for


	4. Chapter: 4-Free-Style Time

** Hello, sorry for not updating sooner. I've actually had the rough draft of this chapter done for a while I just never had the time to type and edit it. School has been quite overwhelming the past few weeks, not to mention exhausting (I also have a cat trying to mountain climb me while I type this).**

** On a more cheerful note, thank you to all of you guys that have reviewed. I appreciate all reviews, though I think it's a given that I like the more pleasant and friendly ones. Well without further ado, here's chapter 4.**

* * *

"Review." - Talking

'Review.' – Thinking

_Review – _Flashback/Memory/Dream

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**Genesis and Requiem**

**Chapter Four**

**Free-Style Time**

_Dream_

_ It's a lovely day; the sun is shining and the wind a gentle breeze stirring the leaves. The garden is in full bloom and I'm walking through the terraces picking lettuce, tomatoes, onions, green beans, and squash for tonight's dinner. Once I've deemed my collection of garden produce enough I start my way back to my family's house up the hill past a row of fruit trees and a shed._

_ As I reach the back door the weather changes; the wind is blowing more violently and storm clouds begin to cloak the sun and the once blue sky it rested in. I go inside quickly to avoid what seems like a sudden spell of rain. I take off my shoes at the base of the stairs and make my way up from the basement to the kitchen where my mother is preparing dinner._

"_Mom I've brought the veggies you asked me to pick," I say._

"_Thank you. Could you wash them for me?"_

_ I make my way to the sink next to my mother who is fussing over a pot of boiling pasta. When I turn on the water she turns to inspect today's harvest._

"_These are really nice, perfect for tonight's dinner."_

_I turn, smiling, and as I am about to reply I stop short, absolutely horrified at what I see. Blood is dripping on the floor from various gaping wounds on her body. An eyeball is hanging from its socket, the other completely gouged out. Her head is caved in on the left and her arms are missing large patches of skin and her left leg is twisted at an anatomically incorrect angle with bone jutting out from a hole below the inner knee. One of her breasts is hanging by a small amount of skin and her intestines hang out from a hole where abdomen muscle and skin used to be, the spine is visible._

"_What wrong sweetie," she asks as I hurl violently into the sink, trembling as I go into shock. I can't reply for my mind is a painful whir of emotions and thoughts._

"_Come on now, let's get you cleaned up."_

_ I flinch as her cold, dead hands touch my arms to guide me to the bathroom. The wind is roaring as thunder strikes loudly nearby and rain violently batters the house. I start to hyperventilate as the walls crack and begin to bleed themselves. My mother tries to get to move in the direction of the bathroom again muttering sweet sugary words. In my panic I try to push her away with my left arm, but to my horror it falls off and to the ground with a disgusting squelch and thud._

_ The world begins to quake greatly, everything falling apart, including me and my mother. Soon the roof has gone and we are exposed to the rain, which is blood as well. Very soon I am drenched and sticky with blood. My mother is trying to say something but I can't hear her over the rain, wind, and thunder. She looks up in fear. Suddenly a bright flash comes from above, engulfing me in fiery pain._

_Dream End_

* * *

_Early Morning after Operation Yashima_

I wake up with a start, trembling and sweaty. I wipe my brow and cover my eyes with my arm and lie back down while I try to calm down. I turn over and to look at the alarm clock Misato gave me yesterday so I wouldn't have to rely on Shinji to wake up for school. Not that I need it for that right now since Shinji and I don't have to go to school today because of yesterday's activities. It's 6:10 am currently.

I get up and dress myself. There's some stiffness in my legs from my 'jog' yesterday. Shinji is still asleep, he was pretty worn out. 'Oh, I know I'll make breakfast for him.' I walk into the kitchen and retrieve all the ingredients and kitchen implements I need for one of my previous mother's recipes. I start to cut up onions and potatoes after having pulled out a frying pan, thinking about what I was going to do today.

'I suppose I can make dango and mochi for a midday snack with tea. Would Shinji like that I wonder?'

I place the now sliced potatoes and onions in the frying pan and drizzle a little olive oil on them, mix the contents of the pan to coat the ingredients evenly, and turn the heat on.

Pretty soon the apartment is filled with the scent of potatoes frying with caramelized onions. Shinji seems to be more hungry than tired because soon enough he comes out of his room walking sleepily into the kitchen, most likely following his nose. His hair is sticking up at odd places.

"Ohaiyo sleepy head," I greet him.

"Ohaiyo," he croaks out as he wanders over to me and the stove, "What are you making?"

"Potatoes and onions," I chirp happily, I really like this particular dish, "You have time to freshen up before it's done, besides you kind of look like you woke up on the wrong side of the bed."

"Hai." He wanders off to the bathroom. I can just faintly hear the sound of running water over the sizzling pan of glorious food.

If you didn't know before I'll tell you now: I'm a foodie. I love food, all kinds, as long as its vegan. Though my favorites are the dishes my mother in my previous life made. It's my comfort food and it always makes me feel better after a nightmare like the one I had last night.

Shinji comes into the kitchen as I move around the potatoes, making sure nothing is burning, looking much better.

"This is nothing like what you cooked when you first moved here," He says as he looks over my shoulder into the pan.

"That was an Indian inspired dish, this is American or English I think"

"What kinds of food do you prefer?"

"I'll try anything I haven't had before so long as its vegan, but I really like good tasting food."

It grows silent again as I turn off the burner, deeming breakfast done. Misato is already gone and at work so I only grab two plates. Quickly enough the both of us are seated at the table eating in silence if it weren't for my humming and fidgeting. I forgot how good this shiz is. I love it, its so goooood. Like, you can't understand how good it is until you eat it.

"Did you come up with this by yourself?"

"No, it was one of my mother's recipes."

'Well I'm kinda telling the truth, she _was _my first mother after all.'

He sits there for a while before asking, "Why are you up so early?"

"I didn't sleep very well last night." I don't want to tell him about things like that yet. Luckily the doorbell rings before he asks me anymore questions.

"I'll get it," I say quickly, already out of my seat heading for the door. I only wonder who would ring the bell at this hour.

When I open the door I find a fairly sizable package sitting next to it. I check the label, finding that it is addressed to me and bring it in. I procure a knife from the kitchen to cut the packaging tape off. Once I open the box I let out a small squeak of joy, being so happy I didn't notice Shinji walk into the room. I jump when he asks, "What's in the box?"

"My gaming consoles, games included," I say, internally adding, 'and _the bigger blacker box _**[1]**. Of course, being the big gamer nerd I am, I got express shipping on my video games.'

I own consoles that are this world's equivalent of the PS2 and Xbox 360+kinnect.

"Oh, I know. Why don't we play a game?"

I own a dancing game and it'd be funny to try and get Shinji to play it with me.

"Which one?"

I pull out the case that has 'Let's Dance 3' emblazoned on its front.

"This."

I can see an expression of mortification on his face.

"Uh-umm, I can't dance…"

"You don't need to be able to dance to have fun."

"O-okay, if you say so."

I pause for a moment from rigging the console to the TV at his meek tone. 'This kid needs more help than I thought.'

"You don't have to play if you don't want to, all I ask is that you try."

He stays silent as I finish setting everything up.

"Okay, I'll go first so that you know what to do if you want to play."

When the game title menu pops up I click on the 'begin game' button and flip through the list of music until I find a decent pop song I'm familiar with. It's similar to Katie Perry's 'Fireworks' only with much better singing. When the song starts the dance queue pops up making me follow the rapid movements right from the get go without any sign of letting up soon.

I know I look like an idiot, but I've let go of the embarrassment to enjoy the exhilaration of the song's quick rhythm. I move my body as the game cues me to, enjoying the way my lungs burned from all the movement. The song ends as quickly as it started leaving me panting for air as I turn around and collapse into the couch. I look up at Shinji to see him gawking at me as if I were an alien **[2]**.

"What," I ask as I move into sitting position.

"How can you so that? W-without being embarrassed I mean."

"I only goof off in front of people I trust, and it's not like I do it every day outside the privacy of my home, I'm not an exhibitionist."

As he mulls it over I go into the kitchen to get a glass of water. When I come back sipping on a cup of the cool liquid Shinji looks at me nervously saying, "I'll try."

"Okay," I chirp cheerily, "Do you want to start with easy songs?"

"Umm… if you don't mind I'd like that."

I move the list to the easy section which is highlighted in blue.

"Choose any of the songs in the blue section, they're the easy ones."

"Okay."

Shinji slowly moves through the songs until he finds one he's willing to try. It's one of those modern pop songs that are only good for dancing and/or exercise. I don't know what the song is, but, I do know I'm having an incredibly hard time not laughing my ass off. Shinji's movements are incredibly stiff and awkward. Not to mention he's already red in the face and panting after only a minute, the steps aren't elaborate or very physically exerting.

'Maybe Shinji is in worse health than I originally thought. Now I have to help him mentally, emotionally, and physically to have any hope of this world surviving.'

Before I know it the song is over and Shinji falls onto the couch beside me gasping for air. I quickly retrieve a glass of water from the kitchen for him. When I go to hand it to him he snatches it and quickly chugs the entire cup.

"Thanks, I needed that. I didn't realize it would be that hard, you made it look effortless. Guess I'm just not cut out for this kind of stuff."

"That's not necessarily true. I sucked at first too, no one can do something like that perfectly without practice," I say, then add as an afterthought, "and lots of exercise."

"I don't really like to do that sort of thing."

"Why not?"

"U-um, well you see I don't like to exercise because it usually hurts and it's just uncomfortable for me."

'What do I say to motivate him to try?"

"I admit, at first I hated the idea of exercise but after a while the pain turned into a pleasant burn and my stress level dropped and I felt better than I ever had before. It helps me deal with the day with a level head and unmuddled thoughts. Though, you can't just run 10 miles without building up your body to do said 10 mile run."

'Genius, using my experience from my past life might just work.'

Shinji looks surprised.

"Really? Exercise can do that? I suppose I could try but… I don't know the first thing about exercise routines."

"I'll do it with you then, these past few days have been so busy I haven't been able to do my ordinary routine. Besides, it's nice to have a partner, well, at least I think so."

"When should we start?"

"Early in the morning is a preferable time since it's cooler, but we don't have that luxury because Middle School doesn't have a flexible schedule like college. Although, we can still do warm-ups to wake up for the day. So we probably will have to do it afterschool on school days and in the morning on Sunday unless something to do with NERV or the Angels come up."

"What about our friends, Touji and Kensuke?"

I pause to think about that because I never really had friends to factor into my routine before.

"Well, I suppose we could ask them if they want to join us. We could also designate certain days of the week as hangout days and we won't be exercising all Sunday, so that leaves most of that day open."

Now it's Shinji's turn to think it over.

"Let's start tomorrow afterschool and ask them when we get to school."

"Sounds like a plan, "I say as I look at the clock noting that it is five after twelve. "You wanna make lunch?"

He glances at the clock and says, "Wow, where did the time go? I am hungry now that I think about it. Umm… Would you like vegetables and rice?"

"If you want that for lunch then go ahead and make it. You're the one cooking after all."

"Aa… okay. I'm going to make some miso soup to go with it, "He says while walking into the kitchen.

"Sounds good, "I say as I feel a wave of fatigue come over me. 'Must be my period coming.' I walk through the kitchen to get to the hall.

"Hey Shinji, I'm going to take a nap. Wake me when lunch is done please."

Shortly after opening the door to my room I fall onto my bed and flip on my MP4. I drift away listen to 'Orchestral Variations on the themes of Chopin – Revolutionary Etude vs. Fantasie Impromptu'.

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**This has taken me way too long to type. At the beginning I was healthy, but now, as I finish this, I have come down with an extremely nasty cold. I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter, the story should be getting more exciting again soon, I just wanted more character interaction between my self-insert and Shinji to develop the beginnings of a bond between them.**

_**Referential Guide of Awesome**_**:**

**[1]- **Cards Against Humanity!

**[2****]- **In one of the spin off games for 'Neon Genesis Evangelion' Rei comes out to Shinji and literally says she is an alien. I guess it's her way of trying to communicate that she is part angel. Although, that does technically mean she's an angel.

**Please review and as always I'll do my best to make another chapter that is hopefully up to your standards of awesome.**


	5. Chapter: 5 Part 1- And so it Begins

**Hey guys, I back, again. I'm really sorry about the slow updates as I haven't had the time needed to write and since it's been so long I decided to cut my newest chapter in half so that you guys have something. Again I'm really sorry about the delay. I'm sad to report that all my future updates are most likely going to be _REALLY _slow. Anyways, I hope you enjoy the half chapter.**

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**Chapter Five Part One**

**And so it Begins**

_The next day before school starts_

I was right, my period started today. 'Damned menstrual cycle!' Anyways, the rest of yesterday was relatively calm, just answering Shinji's shy questions about my life before I moved in; he even had the balls to ask me about my love life. It was nice to see as our conversation (aka, interrogation Shinji-style) continued Shinji seemed to become more comfortable around me.

Today we're going to school, it's now Thursday. We've already gotten onto campus and have to split up to go to our lockers before class. As I open my locker to retrieve my textbooks I suddenly feel like I'm being watched. I take a quick scan of my surrounding and spot Jiro Hayase peering at me from an adjoining hallway. 'I knew he was stalker material.'

I quickly grab the materials I need and then walk to class while making plans on how I can seal my locker. I can hear his footsteps as he follows me to our classroom. As I get into the classroom I feel a great amount of relief when I spot Shinji, Kensuke, and Touji already in their desks. Even after I'm seated I can feel Jiro staring at me.

Touji notices my discomfort and whispers, "You okay Tomoe-san?"

"No, Jiro-san has been stalking me since I got to my locker and he's still watching me," I answer honestly.

"The Hayase kid? Ya want me to rough him up a bit afterschool?"

"No thank you. If he continues any further in his stalking I'll let you."

"Okay, it's your call. Just stick close to me, Ken, and Shin-man."

"I will."

"I'll ask Sector 7 to keep Hayase-san out of our apartment complex's perimeter," Shinji interjects.

"You guys can hear us," the jock asks, surprised.

"That's kind of insulting, of course Kensuke and Shinji can hear us, and they sit right next to us. It's not like their deaf."

"What she said," Kensuke adds.

"Gomen, gomen** [1]**. Jeeze."

_Time-skip_

_During P.E._

On my first day here, Tuesday, we didn't have P.E. Turns out we only have P.E. on Mondays and Thursdays. Today the teacher is making the class run track, not that I'm complaining. I like a good run, it's very refreshing really. My only problem is that Jiro is still watching. The boys aren't running track like the girls but they're off to the side doing some strength-training-esc exercise with weights, poor Shinji. Thankfully Horaki-san is able to somewhat distract me from the disturbing stare of Jiro.

"Kitajima-san, have you thought of what club you're going to join?"

"To be honest, I forgot taking part in a club was mandatory. What clubs do we have anyway?"

"We have band club, afterschool sports, calligraphy club, robotics, student council, writing club and I think we even have a fashion club."

"Are you in any of them?"

"I'm in calligraphy and student council."

"I'm probably going to join fashion and calligraphy, maybe band."

"What instrument do you play?"

"I play the piano."

The teacher blows his whistle and yells at us to go change before the bell rings.

_Time-skip Lunch_

We're eating lunch on the roof again; it's a relatively nice day with the sun shining and a gentle breeze.

"So, what clubs are you guys in," I ask.

"I'm in robotics," says Kensuke.

"Basketball," drawls Touji.

"I'm in band and calligraphy," Shinji mumbles.

"Have you decided what clubs you're going to join," Touji inquires.

"Calligraphy, fashion and possibly band," I reply.

"I would like it if you could join band," Shinji says shyly.

'Aww, he's like a puppy.'

"Do they have a pianist?"

"No."

"Then I'm in."

Shinji gives me a small smile until the school announcement speakers start up.

"Kitajima, Tomoe and Ikari, Shinji, report to the house office immediately."

"Did you guys do something," Kensuke asks, looking somewhat concerned.

"No," Shinji nervously says.

"I have a bad feeling about this," I mutter.

_At the Office_

I see Misato and Dr. Akagi waiting for us in front of one of the private office doors.

Dr. Akagi says, "Come in," and we all go into the office, closing the door behind us, and sit down.

"On Saturday we're going to rendezvous with the Second Child and Evangelion Unit-02 aboard the "Over the Rainbow," Dr. Akagi states.

'Oh great, Asuka.'

"You guys can invite your friends to come with us if you want," Misato offers.

"Okay," replies Shinji.

"Anyways, I'm going back to the car. Meet me there Rits' when you're done."

Dr. Akagi turns to Shinji and says, "Could you excuse us, I need to talk to Tomoe in private."

"Uh, okay."

'Wait, what? Why does she need to talk to _me_ in private of all people!?"

As soon as Shinji leaves the room and closes the door Dr. Akagi turns to me with a serious face.

"Tomoe, I know you probably don't want to deal with this, but, you have been selected as a candidate for the place of the Fifth Child and, unfortunately, at the moment there are no other candidates at the moment."

"Fifth? Who's Fourth?"

'The sad thing is that I already know.'

"You don't need to be concerned with that. All you need to know is that NERV needs you to take synch tests with all of the Evas we currently have if you consent to becoming the Fifth Child."

I start to think about the pros and cons of becoming a pilot.

'I could help Shinji… and I could die again in an equally horrific manner. I could be a badass Angel killer or the side character who dies Attack on Titan-style. I could save the world or epically fail trying (a.k.a. dying). No matter what, if I choose to be a pilot I'll have to tread carefully around Commander Ikari and other agents of SEELE. The cons far outweigh the pros, but, I want to be able to support Shinji and the other pilots… primarily Shinji.'

"Well, what'll it be," Ritsuko asks, interrupting my thoughts.

"I'll do it."

Ritsuko looks surprised by my answer.

"I didn't expect you to accept. You usually follow your extremely strong sense of self-preservation."

"I want to be able to support Shinji in more ways than just a pep talk or two."

"I see, guess love really does make people do crazy things," says Ritsuko as she gives me _that_ look.

I flush a bright red and stutter, "I don't l-like Shinji t-that way!"

"Of course," she responds with an amused smile, then she gets serious again, "We'll need to have you tested on Sunday afternoon after we've had Unit-02 settled in."

"I understand, I'll see you later," I say as I get up to leave. Right when I get to the door Ritsuko says, "I sincerely hope you know what you're getting into."

"Don't worry, I know," I state grimly.

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**And that's a wrap on this half chapter. Do you guys like it? Have any constructive criticism? Tell me with your reviews, I appreciate them all greatly**

_**Referential Guide of Awesome**_**:**

**[1] - **Gomen is an informal way of apologizing in Japanese.


	6. Chapter: 5 Part 2 - Rough Waters

**Sorry for taking so long to update, but the next chapter is probably going to take a long time too unless I miraculously get a large window of time to be able to write. I don't usually write when I have only small pockets of time because I easily lose track of it once I'm swept away by my story. I hope you all enjoy the chapter and thank you for reading.**

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_Time Skip_

_Saturday – Over the Rainbow_

We just got off that fu… I'm just going to pretend I wasn't about to rant with a sailor's tongue about the VTOL we were just in of all things. The congregation I'm a part of consists of Misato, Shinji, Touji, Kensuke and myself. Kensuke's busy fanboying over all of the military equipment attempting to catch it all on camera whilst Touji, Shinji, and I are laboring over our cramps and Misato is effectively seeming to not give a shit.

As we walk down the deck an obnoxious voice calls out, "Hey Misato, long time no see."

'It's her.'

A red-headed girl in a yellow sundress makes her way towards us and Misato replies, "It has been a while. Now guys, I would like to introduce you to the Second Child, Asuka Langley Soryu."

"Charmed, now which one of you is the infamous Third Child?"

Suddenly the wind picked up, raising the hem of Soryu's dress and revealing her panties and lower midriff.

'This just went south real quick,' I think as she slaps Touji, Shinji, and Kensuke for 'sneaking a peek'.

"Now, I'll ask again. Which one of you is the Third Child? Although, the only who seems competent enough for the job is that girl over there."

'Did she just give me a back-handed compliment?'

"I-I'm the Third Child, Shinji Ikari."

"Huh. How did an idiot like you get to be a pilot? Oh… I remember now. You're the daddy's-boy who got in because your papa is in charge."

"Okay, that's enough," Misato breaks in, "We need to get the release forms for Unit-02 signed by the captain so let's go to the bridge."

_The Bridge_

Since we got here the captain has been insulting Misato, NERV, and us left and right.

"While we're on the sea you're in my jurisdiction. Once we reach land I'll release your toy to ya."

Misato's brow twitches as she struggles to contain her temper.

"Well that's fine. But remember, if an Angel or similar emergency occurs everything including Evangelion Unit-02 falls under NERV jurisdiction!"

At first the captains seems taken aback, then his face swiftly twists in a hideous display of rage and bellows, "Fine, just get off my bridge!"

"As you wish, sir!"

We follow Misato as she storms off the bridge.

"Stupid captain and his stupid ship, "she grumbles under her breath.

"My, my, lookie here. I didn't expect to see this sight for sore eyes."

Misato's face turns from incredibly irritated to outright pissed as Asuka squeals "Kaji!" at the top of her lungs and practically tackles the poor man.

"Ha, ha, hello there Asuka."

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm being transferred to NERV HQ as an inspector, anyways lets catch up in the mess hall since these hallways are way too narrow to have a comfortable conversation in, "he says as he walks to the elevator. As soon as I see the elevator I decide to wait until the next time it comes up.

'Thank you foreknowledge.'

Asuka notices and hangs back with me as everyone else boards the tiny elevator, not even noticing we didn't join them.

"Smart idea to hang back, I didn't expect such intelligence since you were with a group of idiotic boys like them."

"They're not that bad once you get to know them, they're just simplistic in their desires and ambitions is all."

"So why are you here anyway, I don't believe you're here just for that dummkopf of a pilot."

'I suppose I'll answer with a half-truth.'

"I wanted to meet my other co-pilot I'll be working beside soon."

"Wait, _you're _a pilot!? I heard rumors that Fourth and Fifth had been chosen but I didn't think they were legitimate facts. Which one are you?"

"I am the Fifth Child, Tomoe Kitajima. I don't know who the Fourth is yet either, Dr. Akagi wouldn't divulge that information to me."

"He. Don't think you'll be better than me. I am an elite chosen from only the best candidates to be the Second Child. Don't think a back-waters pilot like you can compete."

'This is going to wear on my patience, although, I won't tolerate her calling me stupid.'

"I concede that I most likely won't be a very good pilot at first but I challenge your back-waters statement. I have a college education for your information. After this Angel shenanigans is resolved I'm going back to complete my Ph. D. in Physics and Masters in Piano and Composition."

"Oh really, what else have you got cuz' I already have a Ph. D. in Physics."

"Well, I also have a minor in Creative Writing as well as majors in Computer Science, Chemistry, and Biology."

She gives an appraising and slightly condescending look right as the elevator comes back up. As we walk on she states, "Maybe you're not an idiot like those stooges but you're still not as elite as me considering you're a rookie."

When the door closes and we begin to descend her eyes light up in a way that make me somewhat nervous.

"I know, how about I make you my apprentice, I can teach you all the ins and outs of being a pilot."

'Well that's not the worst thing she could of come up with, at least it's kind of a nice gesture and leaves the opportunity for building a friendship… possibly… my life is going to become a living hell soon. If I refuse now it'll only be worse later.'

"I'd appreciate the help. Hopefully I'll get my Eva sometime soon, but first they're going to run me through a compatibility test with the Evas they have right now."

"If they make you test with my Unit-02 you'd better not go and break it."

"Why would I do that?"

'How is the better question.'

"I don't know, just don't."

"Okay."

The door opens after the elevator carriage shudders to a slow stop. It's only a few steps to the mess hall where surely enough the rest of our odd group is loudly conversing. Or should I say, Misato is yelling at Kaji for being a pervert or something along those lines as will be customary until his unfortunate demise, and Shinji is looking uncomfortable while Touji is bored and Kensuke is nervous because of Misato's yelling whilst fiddling with his camera.

Asuka runs over to Kaji with a loud squeal of his name, hugging him from behind and I just calmly walk over and stand off to the side.

"You two took your time getting here, "Kaji comments.

"We didn't want to join you on the cramped ride down so we waited, although, I didn't know Tomoe over there was the Fifth Child until then."

Kaji doesn't react while an unidentifiable emotion flickers through Misato's eyes and the boys are shocked.

"Well, it seem like you two are getting to know each other, "Misato notes dryly.

Shinji mumbles sadly, "You never told me you were a pilot."

'Shit, he's making my feel like a horrible person now.'

"I didn't know until Dr. Akagi told me Thursday and I'm still coming to terms with it."

"It's not like its official yet, she doesn't have an Eva, and she hasn't even been tested yet."

Everything falls into an awkward silence until Misato says, "Well, we have a lot of time till we get to land so why don't we all just explore a bit and stretch our legs?"

It's like she flipped a switch when she spoke because everyone gets up and starts to wander off. After roaming the halls for a bit I spot Asuka. She apparently noticed me as well for she starts striding in my direction.

"Hey Fifth! Come with me, I'll show you what a real Evangelion looks like."

'I've already seen a real Eva, but it's no use arguing with her.'

I follow her as she leads us to the smaller motor boats that act as transport between the big freight and military vessels. Once we're both in Asuka pushes a button on the crane-esc device and it lowers us to the water.

"Los geht es, "Asuka shouts as she drives us towards one of the large freight ships in the middle of the group of large metal tankers. Once we arrive at the side of the freighter with the large tent covering what I know to be Eva Unit-02 Asuka flags down one of the men on deck to help us up onto the ship. As we're being pulled up I spot a shadow move in the corner of my eye. I turn around catching a glimpse of the moving shadow in the water again but it's farther away.

The boat jerks as it is locked in place at the side of the deck and Asuka near literally drags me out and toward the tent in the middle of the deck. We quickly make it to the opening in the side which I am led through by Asuka revealing Unit-02 in all its glory to my sight.

Asuka frolics over to Unit-02's side and then jumps to stand on the giant mech's back.

"Behold, Unit-02! The first real production type Evangelion! Better than those crumby test types!"

"I can see, Unit-02's design is much more streamline and sleek. I imagine it moves much more deftly than the others I've seen. I also like the color."

I'm not lying, design-wise Unit-02 is the superior Eva in all ways to Units 01 and 00. Although, it's mainly the pilots that determine their effectiveness in combat. I'm also saying this so that Asuka doesn't verbally football tackle me.

"You have a good pair of eyes, "Asuka says smugly.

Shortly after she says that the ship suddenly starts quaking then steadies out, I can hear the deck hands yelling outside. Asuka rushes out of the Eva containment area to the railing of the ship deck to see the Sixth Angel, Gaghiel, roam through the water surrounding the fleet. As I approach her side I hear her say "Wunderbar" under her breath and then she whips around grabbing my wrist and swiftly drags me, literally this time, through the Eva containment area grabbing a duffle bag then heading to the stairwell nearby. She shuffles through the bag a few moments then shoves a bright red bundle into my arms.

"Put it on."

She then moves to another section of the stairwell taking out her own red bundle. I quickly realize she just gave me her spare plug-suit but I put it on hastily anyway.

'I can't believe I'm the one taking what should have been Shinji's position in episode 8.'

Once I finish putting on the plug-suit and neural clips Asuka grabs hold of my wrist again and drags me to Unit-02 and into its entry-plug.

As the plug starts filling with LCL Asuka says, "Consider yourself lucky your first time in an Eva will be with me in Unit-02, do you know German?"

"No, "I reply before I'm completely submerged in LCL, I force myself to breathe the foul liquid in.

'Tastes like blood.'

"Change language to Japanese; Eva Unit-02 activate!"

Our surroundings turn into a seizure inducing kaleidoscopic light show for a bit before it turns into a view of the outside through Unit-02's eyes. As Unit-02 shifts to stand up the tent we were under wraps around us like a cloak. Now we can clearly see Gaghiel racing through the water around the fleet.

Now, just as I remember her doing, Asuka wills Unit-02 to jump from ship to ship like a game of hopscotch while ditching our makeshift cloak. The strange part is that I'm feeling phantom sensations in my limbs as though I'm the one jumping.

'Am I partially synched to Unit-02 like Shinji was? I thought that only happened when he took hold of the console with Asuka, unless there's something I'm missing here.'

Gaghiel startles me out of my thoughts by jumping out of the water and onto us where Asuka has already drawn her progressive knife and has plugged in Unit-02 to the ship. We wrestle with the giant mutated fish until it falls of the edge taking us with it. For a while we just hang there in the water while Gaghiel disappears from sight. Misato's voice suddenly echoes through the entry plug.

"Asuka, Tomoe, are you guys alright?"

"Just peachy," I respond cheekily.

"Be careful out there, B-Type equipment isn't designed for the water; you can't swim."

"Never know until you try," Asuka says.

She moves the console controls as she wills the Eva to move and nothing happens causing her to squawk in disbelief.

"Why won't you move, dammit!?"

Gaghiel once again appears in our sight charging toward us with jaws agape until they close around us. Asuka and I hiss at the stinging phantom pain of large teeth sinking into our torso. The impact of being rammed into the submerged buildings of an old city drive the breath from my lungs as well. I place my hands on the controls over Asuka's in a small hope of being able to get Unit-02 to get Gaghiel off of us.

"What are you doing!?"

"Trying to get this bastard of an overgrown fish off of us!"

Misato's voice reverberates through the entry plug once again.

"Guys hang in there, I have a plan."

After about a half minute of Misato explaining her plan to us we move into action. It's a struggle to keep Unit-02's hands in place as we try to force open Gaghiel's maw. While we're dealing with our end of things we can hear the countdown to when we need to have the jaws open for the submerging tankers to enter and blow the Angel to bits.

I can feel my stress and anxiety rise as the countdown nears the end as we've barely managed to start open Gaghiel's jaws, evidently Asuka feels the same since I can feel her body continue to tense up more and more. Just as we reach the last few moments we make head way.

'Open, open, open, open up you fucking freak of nature!'

We finally manage to pry the Angel's jaws open for the tankers to charge in. All we see is white as the cacophony of the explosions bombard our hearing. Soon our sight clears as the sensation of falling overtakes us. We manage to right ourselves before landing on a ship's deck. The visual feed suddenly cuts out as the battery runs out bathing us in darkness. No longer being synched to Unit-02 and Asuka is startling as well as extremely disorienting. I just manage to get my bearings after who knows how long before the entry plug is opened letting in the sun's cruelly bright rays revealing Misato with Shinji, Touji, and Kensuke not far behind her.

"I'm glad you're both okay," Misato says with palpable relief.

_Time Skip_

_Early Evening – Some Harbor I Forgot the Name of_

As we walk down the ramp after a long and uncomfortable day on the ship after we defeated the Angel, Asuka runs up to walk beside me still clad in her plug-suit like I am.

"You may not be bad for a rookie, but don't think you're better than me."

"I don't, you still have more experience than me. Besides, while I may have been helping you were still leading when we were in Unit-02."

"Humph, so long as you know your place."

'Does she have to be a bitch about everything?'

After having sufficiently annoyed me, she finally runs off to see if she can find Kaji. It takes a little while longer till I fully descend the length of the ramp where I rejoin Shinji and the others. Kensuke is looking dazed from the long day while Shinji has an unreadable expression and Touji seems to be critically assessing me for whatever reason.

Finally Touji speaks, "Red's really not ya color."

I give him a small smile and reply, "I know."

After a few moments a tired Misato comes up to and says, "Let's go home."

We follow her without a word.


	7. Chapter 6 - Incomplete

**Hey guys, this isn't the whole chapter but I figured since I won't be able to work on it for a while because of my broken finger that I should post what I have for now. It's nothing much nor is it very exciting but I hope you all enjoy it. It's really hard to type even just this announcement.**

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**Chapter Six**

**An Absence of Altruism**

_Four in the Morning on Sunday_

These nightmares of mine are really rather obnoxious, Asuka appeared in the one that woke me and now I can't fall back asleep. I suppose it's to be expected at this point that she would appear in my dreams after I met her considering all I've been able to think about is 'how in the hell can I protect her.'

I turn over after snagging my MP4 off the desk and press the power button. Groaning softly to myself when seeing it's only 4:15 AM and resign myself to a long morning spent preparing for the day ahead, I have to go for compatibility testing today. I pop my earbuds in and put on the theme for "Howl's Moving Castle" while getting up to walk to my wardrobe, picking older clothes that I usually wear when I haven't done the laundry or I'm doing chores and it's the weekend.

'Is compatibility testing considered a chore? Although, I might as well get some cleaning done with it being too early to cook dinner.'

With that thought in mind I set myself upon the task of cleansing the bathroom, every cleaners' greatest adversary, or at the very least mine.

_One Hour and a Half Later_

I have not only conquered the bathroom but the kitchen as well. I revel in my victory as I soak in the sight of a kitchen no longer infest by so many empty cans and food packages it looked like a landfill instead of a kitchen.

Now that I've had my fill of cleaning for the day, I evaluate our cabinets and fridge to see what we need. I grab the notepad I had found earlier buried underneath a mound of trash and proceed to write down a grocery list.

After having determined we need to buy the entire produce section at whatever supermarket I find nearby, Misato walks in looking like she still thinks she's dreaming.

"What happened?"

"I happened, also we really need to go to the grocery store."

She shrugs, "I figured, I probably won't be able to go anytime soon so you'll have to do it."

"I don't mind, I'm making an improvised miso vegetable soup for breakfast considering all we have is a couple packages of noodles, miso, and some sad veggies that have definitely seen better days."

"That sounds good to me."

_About an Hour Later_

I've already set the table after letting the soup cool a bit when Shinji stumbles in and takes a seat in his spot at the table next to Misato, still obviously half asleep.

"It's still hot," I warn him.

Shinji nods once before starting with Misato and I follow suit.


	8. Deleted Scene

**Sorry for not updating in so long. I know this isn't really a legitimate update but it was all I had time for and it was already written considering it was originally a part of chapter 1. I hope to be able to finish chapter 6 soon which should be easier to do now that I have my Evangelion DVD box set back. Thank you to everyone who has read this fanfiction, when I first started writing I didn't think anyone would like what I had to write.**

**Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this cut scene despite it's brevity. **

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**Chapter 1**

**Deleted Scene - What was originally going to be the ending of Chapter 1 **

_Shinji's POV_

I watch as Tomoe goes to her room. She seemed nice enough and she's obviously a genius if she's in college.

'I wonder how Tomoe and Misato met', thought Shinji.

"Well that's a bit of a story there," says Misato.

"Huh?"

"You thought aloud, but, to answer your question briefly. I was there when she was born. Her family had taken me in after 2nd impact."

"Oh, that was nice of them."

"You have no idea. I was extremely lucky I met them. I would have never known Tomoe if I hadn't."

"I see, what were her parents like?"

"I didn't know her father for very long, soon after Tomoe was born he died in a car accident. Though while he was alive he was only kind to me, always there to cheer me up. Her mother was always sick as far as I knew. Even though she felt horrible the majority of the time she was always such a sweet person. Always listening to your troubles and trying to help. I miss them but at least I have Tomoe."

"How… did her mother die?"

"As I said before, she was always a sickly person. After Tomoe was born it started getting worse, but it only needed 24/7 attention in the last year. It hurt to see her decay like that, but it must have been worse for Tomoe. After all, she spent the last and worst week with her mother so she wouldn't feel alone when she passed. Her mother went into cardiac arrest before she died."

"I see… I should probably head to bed. Good night."

"Yeah, good night Shinji."

I put my bowl in the sink and started heading towards my room. I pause by Tomoe's door and see her laying on the bed listening to music while sleeping.

'Just like me.'

Walking into my room I slip in my own earbuds and lay down to sleep with Tomoe on my mind.


End file.
